Certainly, no matter how long you have lived in this world, there would be a person that you just can't stand, someone you just find plain annoying. Whether it's the guy who parks in your spot or the boss that demands you to work during the holidays, we all have experiences dealing with people that make us feel miserable every now and then. How to deal with annoying people? Here're some tips to do so.

How to Deal With Annoying People: 10 Strategies You Can Choose

1

What exactly annoys you?

Understand what bothers you. Is it their behaviors? Maybe being late for every meeting, talking to you, messiness, etc., while, on the other hand, someone's complaining doesn't even irritate you the least.

Let's take messiness for example, why it annoys some but not others. Some people see negativity in the fact that something is disorderly while others simply see it as the norm in their life. To people who see messiness as terrible, there is this nagging feeling that it feels off and that will turn into a sense of irritation. Knowing what exactly annoys you will help you deal with tolerating them.

2

The behavior might not stem from you

If your boss has the tendency to make your life as miserable as possible, recognize that the problem often doesn't lie to you but his life. He is under higher pressure to make sure everything goes well and sometimes that frustration ends up being channeled to the worker or his behavior.

3

Listen

Conflicts often stemmed from misunderstandings, therefore, make sure that you do understand everything. When someone annoys you, we usually tune them out and simply be irritated. Try not to get distracted by their behavior, rather to carefully questioning them to get their focus on the topic. Listen and maybe clear up those misunderstandings, preferably in one go. Remember that the more time you spend needing clarification, the more time you are going to spend with that someone you rather avoid.

4

Always keep calm

Be the bigger person. As tempting as it is to argue with people that just rub you wrong, or worse, to lose entirely, just don't do that. Unless, of course, they are truly at fault about something directly affecting you materially. Don't waste your breath, arguments will only lead to agony with neither winners nor losers. The debate can be fun to banter with friends, on opinions that matters and where there is no need for a clear winner to emerge, but simply sharing of perspectives and an intellectual exercise.

5

Response appropriately

Naturally, to someone that annoys you, the initial reaction would often be anger or to withdraw. Reacting will only make things worse for you, rather, give yourself a moment and consider how you should respond. Reacting is different to responding, where reacting is often solely based on emotions. Take a short breather and choose the appropriate response. Take note that more often that not, the best response is the lack thereof.

6

Avoid feeling responsible for other's feelings

You cannot control the way people do, think or say. The responsibility is not yours, either to change the way that someone else decides is the right way to behave. You are responsible for the way you act and behave in response to others. You can only influence the behaviors of others after you had changed yourself.

7

Appreciate diversity

Trust me on this, if we are all look and act the same way, we will still find some faults in each other. Appreciate the diversity in your daily life. The annoying neighbor you have added colors to your life. The Desperate Housewives has people you like and hate, but you know that getting rid of the people you hate will not make the show any better, it's what make the show the way it is. It's entertainment. All you need to do is kick back and enjoy the world unfolds.

8

Focus on the positives

If you look hard, maybe even squint, you will find that everyone has something wonderful to offer. Whether they are a genius cookie batter, have a kind heart or even the uncanny brilliance to irritate anyone he met in a single sentence. Every single person is special in their own way, you just had to find their positives. Overlook a person's annoyances and you might just see what value that the person offers.

9

Self-awareness

Understand that triggers you, then learn where those emotions stem from. Move beyond those feelings, often they are petty in nature. Once you learn how to tolerate people, you will realize you need to carry the burden for every irritating person you met. Attracting difficult situation and people is indeed avoidable.

10

Distance yourself

This should be second nature. If you can't win them, run, as much as possible. Your annoying work colleagues eat lunch in the cafe you always go to? Go and eat elsewhere. If you are sharing a cubicle wall, arrange to switch the desk locations with impeded productivity as the reason. If you can't deal with the annoyance, the more time spent will only lead to bigger irritation. It's never wrong to put some distance between you as much as you can. That is how to deal with annoying people.